BRR Quarter 4 Newsletter

As BRR Northwest Georgia enters Years 7 and 8, our coalition will build on the partnerships and momentum developed across our region with an increased focus on behavioral health and sustainable systems change.

A key part of this work will be assembling a Partner Strategy Team made up of partners from across Northwest Georgia. This team will share in decision-making, help identify regional needs, and guide the direction of our work. Reach out to us if you would like to be a part of this team!

Our work will be supported by two committees:

Community Awareness Committee: This committee will increase awareness of behavioral health resources and strengthen communication across the region. Efforts will include the BRR Northwest Georgia website, Facebook posts, and continued quarterly newsletters to share resources, partner activities, and opportunities.

Capacity Building Committee: This committee will focus on expanding our coalition’s knowledge and ability to address behavioral health needs. Partners will have opportunities to participate in trainings, with trained partners then sharing their knowledge and providing training to groups across our region. This approach will help build local expertise and strengthen our regional capacity.

Both committees will work through a systems change lens, looking beyond individual programs to identify opportunities to strengthen practices, partnerships, resources, and systems that impact behavioral health.

Through shared leadership, regional collaboration, and continued learning, our goal is to strengthen a network of partners that is better equipped to support behavioral health and build healthier, more resilient communities across Northwest Georgia.

Throughout the summer, our BRR Facebook page celebrated a Summer of Resilience, exploring how families and communities can build resilience all summer long through the lens of the Five Protective Factors.

Our summer messages reminded communities that resilience is strengthened in many different ways. We shared summer feeding resources, offered ideas for preventing the summer slide by keeping children learning through reading, play, and everyday experiences. We encouraged families to get outside, explore parks and family-friendly activities across our region, spend time together, and create opportunities for connection.

As the new school year approached, our focus shifted toward routines, school attendance, belonging, and helping children feel connected and supported as they returned to the classroom.

Woven throughout it all were the Five Protective Factors: Parental Resilience, Social Connections, Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development, Concrete Support in Times of Need, and Social & Emotional Competence of Children.

Our Summer of Resilience was a reminder that resilience isn't built through one program, resource, or event. It grows through everyday moments—a meal when a family needs it, a trip to the park, a book read together, a trusted relationship, a community resource, or simply knowing you belong.

When families are supported, connected, and equipped with what they need to thrive, we build stronger children, stronger communities, and a more resilient Northwest Georgia.

This summer, resilience looked like communities coming together to help students start school with confidence.

Across Northwest Georgia, back-to-school events and outreach efforts reached more than 5,600 children and family members. But the number only tells part of the story.

Throughout our region, these efforts were powered by collaboration. Family Connection Collaboratives brought together schools, businesses, nonprofits, health providers, churches, first responders, volunteers, and other community partners—all contributing their time, resources, expertise, and support to provide supplies and services at no cost to families.

Together, communities provided backpacks and school supplies, gift cards, health and developmental resources, vision, hearing and dental screenings, haircuts, food and treats, connections to community resources, and more.

These efforts show what resilience looks like at the community level. When partners pool resources, share their strengths, and work toward a common goal, we help remove barriers and surround children and families with the support they need to thrive.

Sometimes resilience starts with something as simple as walking through the school doors with a backpack full of supplies, knowing you are prepared and that your community is behind you.

5,600+ children and family members reached. Countless community partners. One region working together to help students start school strong.

Systems change rarely happens all at once. More often, it happens through small shifts repeated over time—a new conversation, a different way of framing an issue, a relationship built with the right partner, community voices being heard, or a long-held assumption beginning to change.

Across our region, these micro-level systems changes are happening every day. They may not always result in something immediately visible or easy to capture in an end-of-year report, but they matter. Each small step can help shift mental models, strengthen relationships, build community readiness, and create the conditions for larger change.

Gilmer County’s workforce housing journey is a powerful example of what can happen when those small steps begin to build upon one another. The outcome—a new workforce housing development—is significant, but the journey to get there involved persistence, education, community engagement, trusted champions, setbacks, data, and many conversations along the way.

As you read the Lessons Learned from Gilmer County below, consider where you may already see these same elements taking shape in your own community. What small shifts are happening now that could become part of a much bigger story over time?

And if you want to hear the story behind the lessons, visit our Continual Growth Toolkit below and listen to this quarter’s recommended podcast featuring Tiffany Watson and Dr. Ann Price, where they share the journey behind Gilmer County’s workforce housing work and what it teaches us about systems change in action.

As we close out Year 6 of Building a Region of Resilience Northwest Georgia, we are grateful for the opportunity to reflect on the progress, partnerships, and collective impact happening across our region.

Our external evaluator, Community Evaluation Solutions, has compiled our FY26 End of Year Report and Process Data Summary, capturing both the story and the numbers behind our work. Together, these reports highlight our growing regional reach, strengthened partnerships, capacity-building efforts, and continued movement toward meaningful systems change.

In FY26 alone, BRRNWGA recorded

• 1,184 activities
• Reached 41,790 people
• Delivered 84 trainings
• Engaged 261 partnerships region-wide—a powerful reflection of what is possible when communities work together toward a shared vision for resilience.

Explore the reports below to see the story behind the numbers and the impact of our collective work across Northwest Georgia.

One of our key strategic priorities is to strengthen the capacity of both professionals and caregivers while fostering a shared language around trauma-informed and poverty-aware care. Explore the various training opportunities offered by our partners to enhance your own understanding or to equip your staff with valuable knowledge.

Are you interested in learning more on your own? Check out our these recommendations for personal learning. Do you have a recommendation to share for our next newsletter? Let us know!

Passionate about building trauma-informed communities and addressing the root causes of poverty?

Join our new public Facebook page where partners can share updates, resources, and success stories while staying connected to regional efforts!

Follow our page and be part of the conversation as we work together to drive meaningful change!